Greetings all, I need a favour...
A friend of mine had a problem in a resort in Cuba. He was wrongly accused of theft and was threatened by the staff. Most of you can probably relate that when you are visiting a foreign country, anytime someone threatens to call immigration and have you detained that's a very serious threat to your personal safety and wellbeing.
The resort is run by Breezes and despite contacting their Canadian headquarters, my friend has yet to receive a sincere apology. I'm personally appauled that such a large company as Breezes (a division of SuperClubs) would not take seriously an account of thier staff threatening a guest.
I want to get this story out to as many people as possible. Everyone who travels, or indeed considers it, should be aware of how little concern Breezes shows it's customers. Ultimately, you are putting you life, (and possibly your family's life) safety, and well being in the hands of a company when you visit a resort overseas. Nobody should ever have to feel like their life is threatened by hotel staff in a foreign country - especially in a resort operated by a big chain. The name Breezes is a brand, and like any other product or service, brand recognition is key to customer confidence. Selecting a resort based on a known operator like Breezes should provide a customer with a sense of security. Sadly, the as it turns out this is entirely false.
Please read this account of false accusations, poor customer service and most importantly threats to personal security and if you know anyone who might be saved from a bad experiance like this,
pass this along. If Breezes and Superclubs cannot show concern for an incident like this then it's up to us as consumers to be aware!
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1199960-d254186-r26584070-SuperClubs_Breezes_Jibacoa-Santa_Cruz_del_Norte_Cuba.html#REVIEWS<lj-cut text="review from trip advisor"> "Hey Folks,
I am not one to do this type of thing, however, after dealing with the Canadian Head Office of Breezes, regarding the horrible treatement I recieved on check out, I thought it only fair to warn other travelers of the potential threats of being detained by immigration. Below is the account of events that was sent via email to a Breezes representative (who was helpful, however her bosses dismissed the validity of the issue) in regards to the treatment.
When we went to check out of the resort on February 27th, 2009, the final part of our trip ruined our whole experience. When we checked out we were missing one of the towel cards that was given to us on the first day. The lady at the front desk informed us that we would have to pay 15 CUC for the towel. I informed her that we had checked in the towels yesterday, and the only thing that was missing was the card itself. She said "you pay, you pay". I tried to explain that the towel had been checked in, and if she looked at the list from the pool house, she would see the towel had been signed in. She said "NO!", and again said I had to pay. Getting frustrated, I asked to speak to the Manager. She promptly responded "NO". Having worked many years in the Hospitality Industry, several of those years at the front desk of a Hotel, I angrily said "get me your Manager". She replied "no Manager here". Thinking this might be a miscommunication in the language, and knowing that the staff referred to the Manager as "Boss", I again asked to speak with the Boss. Again I was told "NO". At this point I was very mad and upset. It had become more than just an issue of paying 15 CUC, (approximately $21.00 Canadian dollars) but an issue of mistreatment. I told her that I was going to eat breakfast because our bus would soon be here to take us to the airport, and when she found me a Boss I would be in the restaurant. Needless to say breakfast was not enjoyable I was just too upset because of the treatment I had received at the front desk. After about 25 minutes, I had finished easting, and still no visit from the Boss. I went back out to the lobby to see what progress had been made. The lady called me over and informed me that I now owed even more money because they checked the room, and there were towels missing. Not only was I not being treated as a guest I was being accused of stealing towels, simply being called a thief. At this point I had not noticed the other lady now standing beside me, who apparently was the Housekeeping Manager. "Oh so there was a Manager here", I replied to the lady, after being told she was the Manager. Add being lied too, to the list. The Housekeeping Manger then informed me that I had stolen the towels, and had to pay, or else. I informed the two ladies that I would be right back, I went to get my Mother because I had had it, and was ready to loose my cool. When my Mother and I returned the Housekeeping Manger again said that we had stolen the towels. My Mother told them to go look in our suitcases, that, "no we had not stolen the towels". The Housekeeping Manger said "NO". She said that the maid had checked the day before, and all the towels were in the room and accounted for, implying that, that morning we had packed the towels up. The Manager said "you pay, you pay". To which I jumped in saying "this is ridiculous and I am going to call head office when I got back to Canada". The Manager quickly responded saying "you call head office, I call immigration and have you detained in the country". This was not appropriate, and it was a threat. Both my Mother and I now feel that our lives have been threatened. I looked at her (the Manager) and said "excuse me is that a threat?" Looking for her name tag, I noticed it was conveniently missing. In fact, both the Managers and the lady behind the desk had no name tags on. I found this peculiar as everyone on the resort wore name tags. When I asked the Manager for her name she refused to give it to me. She began looking at her clip board, looked up and said "fine only pay for room towels". I looked over her shoulder at the clip board and noticed it was the pool towel check in list. I can only assume she had this list all along. Seeing this, I now felt like I was being taken for a ride, and they were only trying to get more money out of us. Our Guide was now with us telling us we had to go because we were going to miss our flight. Reluctantly, we paid for the room towels at two CUC each, for a total of four CUC.
After a great vacation, the last 30 minutes ruined the entire week.
It became clear that as I had gone to eat breakfast the lady at the front desk had the room checked for more "missing" items, which does not make me feel very good. Right there I had been labeled a thief, and now they were trying to get as much out of us as they could. Knowing the industry as I do, if I had treated a guest the way that we were treated I would no longer have a job, and would be on the hook for the cost of reconciling the ordeal with the guest. Wait, I would NEVER treat a guest like we were treated, nor would I threaten them with Immigration. As well, if I were the front desk staff who had implied the guest was a thief, there would be a Lawsuit for slander against myself and the company I worked for. I do feel that a formal apology from the Hotel is in order, as well as a return visit in order to make right the wrongs that we experienced, and ensure that the highest of Super Clubs standards are met.
I recived a response many days later from the Hotel manager, in which she denied the incident had had happened, down played the immigration issue, and denied the feelings of life threatening action in a foreign Country.
The final word from Breezes was that they considered the issue closed, despite the fact I was never offered a sincere, satisfactory response from either the company, or Hotel Manager.
Breezes Canada, and I presume Breezez International does not value the satifaction of their guests, or the overal feeling of safety and security their guests have"</lj-cut>
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